Hey, everyone! Here's the Halloween fic I promised. I hope you all enjoy and have a happy Halloween!
Ren couldn't say he was amused. The President and Yashiro, on the other hand, seemed to be greatly amused. Unfortunately, so did Kotonami-chan and the rest of the LME employees who weren't drooling over his costume. He may've been dark and brooding as Cain Heel, but that didn't mean he was this dark and bloodthirsty.
Ren winced internally at the unintentional pun, but seriously, why did he have to be a vampire? He would have been perfectly happy as a werewolf, even better if it was one of those damn wolf costumes that were hard to see out of like the dog and cat costumes last year. Anything to get him out of the torture that was this stupid promotion for a drama airing the day after Halloween.
It was bad enough he was the main antagonist and had faked his death at the end of the first episode. Worse yet, Kyouko starred in the show and one of the most eagerly awaited scenes was when his character bit hers and thus change the vampire hunter into a vampire. It had been hell to film and it was an even worse torture to have to stage the scene again and again and again for all the guests at the LME Halloween Party. He wasn't sure if Kyouko hated it as much as he did, since she was stubbornly staying in character, but he hoped she did. And on the other hand he hoped she didn't.
Sipping his refreshment of blood red punch, Ren scanned the guests as he hoped to find an escape route to the costume vault. Once he was out of his ridiculous vampire costume, he could actually try to enjoy the festivities and maybe talk to his parents who had been able to make it again this year. Seeing an opportunity when the orchestra began playing a waltz, Ren slipped into the crowd and, hunched, made his way out of the ballroom. It took him a bit to find the costume vault, seeing as it had been a few years since he'd actually been there and it almost looked like a normal stretch of wall. As he punched his code into the outside key pad, the circular titanium door popped open, and the tall actor quickly stepped inside, only to be horrified at the selection laid out before him. Pinks, purples, pastels, frills, lace and flowers as far as the eye could see, and not a pair of pants to be found, the false brunet noted, appalled and awed at the president's scheme-thwarter. Ren may've hated his costume and the antics that went with it but this—he wouldn't be caught dead in one of those, torture or no.
His hand jerked as his name was called from outside and happened to press the locking mechanism. He watched in utter horror as the vault door swung shut, sealing him inside. Oh shit, damn, and duck.
Kyouko was relieved but annoyed that her sempai was nowhere to be found. While it meant she could finally rest after doing the same pose over and over again, it also meant Tsuruga-san had shirked his responsibilities, which was most unprofessional. Surely if something urgent had cropped up, the President would've been notified, and her indirectly, so that maybe she could've changed out of these uncomfortable stiletto boots and tight leather pants. Not to mention her auburn wig was hot and itchy. She couldn't believe that man had dared to leave her behind to suffer alone in her stiff costume. When Kyouko found Tsuruga, he'd better be repentant. She wasn't quite sure what she'd do if he wasn't, but staking was on the table as was decapitation and death by inferno. Maybe that was her character whispering in her ear, but she didn't really mind at the moment, if Tsuruga had indeed abandoned her to suffer alone. She'd had enough of that from just about everyone in her past and she didn't need more in the present.
As Kyouko became more uncomfortable in her chair against the far wall of the LME ballroom, she decided to seek out her counterpart and give him hell for ditching her and his responsibilities. She paused as she reexamined that thought slowly. Tsuruga hadn't really left her behind, he had just left her alone to endure something that was their dual responsibility. That was all. She wasn't anyone important to him. Just a replaceable kouhai after all.
Kyouko didn't like the idea—for some unknown reason—but she firmly squashed the depressing and uneasy feeling it created, going off to find her missing vampire. The missing vampire. The missing actor goddamn it!
The young actress sighed and knocked her head against the wall. She needed her head examined for being unable to let go of the fact her sempai was handsome and he looked absolutely hot in his costume. She felt like screaming. She settled for banging her head against the wall some more, hoping some semblance of reason would be banged into her head. No—bang—such—bang—luck.
After a few more repetitions, a large hand appeared between the wall and her sore forehead. The amber eyed woman looked from the hand up to its owner's worried expression. "Otou-san."
Hizuri Kuu examined the large bump developing on his adopted daughter's forehead. "Is everything okay, Kyouko?"
"Of course. Why wouldn't everything be okay?"
"You were hitting your head against the wall," the brown eyed man in faux fur and wolf ears pointed out blandly.
The auburn haired woman blushed. "I was trying to clear my head."
"Maybe you should try something a little less…debilitating, like going out for a walk," the famous actor suggested, leading the young woman out of the LME ballroom and into a hall. "Now I have to get back to Julie for a dance or she'll skin me alive."
Kyouko flashed the older man a smile, knowing that if her adoptive father had promised her adoptive mother a dance and didn't show the glutton would be very, very sorry. "Tell Okaa-san hello for me."
"Sure thing, kiddo," the tall man said, ruffling her wig. With one last grin, he headed back to the ballroom, praying his cute little daughter wouldn't realize his connection with this particular plot. If all else failed, he'd blame Lory. It had been the eccentric's idea originally after all, Kuu and Julie had just sort of added on to it. Like with the dresses in the costume vault.
Unworriedly, Kyouko strolled down the hall, concentrating on her steps instead of what was on her mind. And keeping an eye out for Tsuruga, of course, so that she could give him hell for leaving her behind while he went off to do God-knows-what at God-knows-where. It was along her walk that she heard the banging on what appeared to be a normal stretch of wall with a random keypad. If she remembered correctly that was the president's costume vault but nobody should've been in there, especially during the middle of the LME Halloween Party.
Could someone have gotten trapped inside by accident? There was a panel on the inside where you could lock it, but you could also unlock from there as well. Anyone with a code should've been able to get in and out. Kyouko knew she could with the code she'd received at the beginning of her role as Setsuka.
After a few moments hesitation, the actress typed in her pass code and the circular door popped open just a crack. It wasn't enough for her to enter, but she could see a fair portion of the inside, which included a rather grumpy Tsuruga surrounded by lots and lots of princess dress. So this was where he snuck off to. Kyouko couldn't blame him. She wanted out of her costume too and what better place to find a new one than in the notoriously eccentric Takarada Lory's infamous costume vault? But still, her sempai should've been able to use his access code to get out.
"Tsuruga?" the woman asked quietly, drawing the tall man's attention.
His long white wig was discarded on the floor and appeared to have been stomped on—oh, he loved being stuck in a titanium vault with no way out and in too tight skinny pants, a scratchy leather shirt, dry contact lenses and an itchy wig that he tended to trip over—and left his annoyed expression plain as his head swiveled towards her. Hope appeared as he spotted her at the open door. Well, partially open door.
"Mogami-san! Thank God, I thought I'd be stuck in here until tomorrow." When Lory would appear to gloat and promptly laugh his ass off at Ren's arranged predicament.
…Now, why was the door only cracked open thirty centimeters approximately? It had swung wide open for him earlier so that it only popped open to such a small extent was certainly odd…
"May I ask how you came to be stuck in here, sempai?"
Did Ren really want to answer that? Probably not but…"I was looking for another costume and—the inside panel malfunctioned, locking me inside. I tried unlocking it but the system doesn't seem to be working." Hopefully Kyouko wouldn't be able to catch that small lie sandwiched between two truths.
The actress didn't buy the bit about the panel, but decided to let it go. Right now she needed to focus on how to get the older man out with the heavy titanium door only slightly ajar and not budging in either direction.
"Could you try to push from your side while I try to pull, Tsuruga-sempai?"
Red eyes blinked at her for a moment before the tall man agreed. He put all his weight into shoving the door with his shoulder while Kyouko pulled with all her might. Not so much as a creak came from the large, circular door. Why did President Takarada have to make it titanium anyway? It wasn't like it the location of the vault was that obvious—Kyouko had walked passed that stretch of wall several times unknowingly—and most of the LME president's collection, especially the valuables, were kept at his mansion.
The actress frowned examining the vault's contents once again. There was only women's clothing so either the president was planning on cross-dressing or he had purposely cleared out all male attire because he knew Tsuruga would sneak in and change costumes. She had to admit it was genius foresight since the tall actor wouldn't be caught dead in female attire.
Still, that didn't account for the stuck door. Once again Kyouko entered her code into the keypad and this time the door opened a little more, just enough for someone to come in or out.
At that point Tsuruga had turned his back to the door, looking for an alternative point of entry or, in this case, exit. So the actress did the logical thing of going into the vault with the intention of dragging her sempai out. That was when the door closed behind her without warning.
"Ah, shit."
Muwhahahaha~! You all thought it was a one-shot, didn't you? It was supposed to be, but I started writing and couldn't stop until I had made an entire plot. As I finish chapters, I'll post them, but it might be a while. Don't hate me, ne?